CJ In the Know

This summer, nine students from the Sam Houston State University College of Criminal Justice (SHSU-COCJ) embarked on an immersive three-week study abroad program led by criminal justice professor John Navarro. The experience began in Texas, where students spent a week exploring the state's correctional system before traveling to Finland, where they visited prison museums, universities, government institutions and historic landmarks. “I actually didn’t know that SHSU offered a criminal justice study-abroad program like this,” said student Ash Du Fief. “Navarro came to one of my classes to talk about it. He just made it sound really cool and exciting and I thought it seemed like something I’d want to do - so I applied.” Before continuing their journey across the globe, students observed the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s (TDCJ) Huntsville, Wynne, Estelle and Byrd Units, engaging with staff and gaining an inside look at how the facilities operate. To reflect on the history ...

  Roxana Martinez Brownsville, Texas Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice While working full-time as an emergency communications operator for the Brownsville Police Department and raising her 6-year-old daughter, Roxana Martinez earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice with a minor in forensic science from Sam Houston State University (SHSU), completing the program in her hometown of Brownsville, Texas. “From a very young age, I have been keen on law enforcement shows, true crime TV and documentaries,” said Martinez. “This is how I discovered a true love for criminal justice and decided I needed to make it a career for myself.” Drawn to SHSU for its various degree offerings and renowned forensic science department, the summer graduate was thrilled to become a Bearkat through the unique transfer pathway offered in Brownsville. While the program made it possible for Martinez to finish her degree without leaving home, doing so required careful time management as she balanced ...

This past June, Sam Houston State University (SHSU) criminal justice doctoral students, Kelly Martinez and Zoe Hayes, attended a two-week international summer program covering transnational crime and justice. The program was hosted in Vienna, Austria, by the Alliance of NGOs (non-governmental organizations) on Crime Prevention and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UN-ODC) . “When I saw this opportunity come up, I knew I wanted to apply,” said Hayes. “It’s a grad school bucket list item to be able to study abroad since it’s not something that you think you’ll get the opportunity to do, especially not at the UN.” The program involved attending the 35 th Session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice , connecting with UN leadership, participating in round table discussions with fellow doctoral students and engaging in learning sessions and presentations focusing on SHERLOC (Sharing Electronic Resources and Laws on Crime), the UN’s case law management...

For the third consecutive year, a Sam Houston State University College of Criminal Justice (SHSU-COCJ) alum has received the E.R. Cass Correctional Achievement Award from the American Correctional Association, the highest honor bestowed upon a corrections professional in the United States. This year’s recipient, retired Lt. Col. Peter Grande (’91), was recognized at the 156th Congress of Correction in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in late July. “I am truly humbled and honored to receive the E.R. Cass Correctional Achievement Award,” said Grande. “As I reflect on previous recipients of this award, the giants in the field of corrections, I am grateful to just follow in their footsteps.” Grande pursued a Master of Arts in Criminal Justice and Criminology as an active-duty captain in the United States Army Military Police Corps. He was the 69 th military police officer to graduate from SHSU with a master’s degree. “In addition to my graduate classes, the criminal justice center offered a ...

Braell Dotson, a computer science student at Sam Houston State University’s College of Science and Engineering Technology (SHSU-COSET), developed a new centralization plugin for Gephi , an open-source software program utilized by organizations such as the Institute for Homeland Security, the Bill Blackwood Law Enforcement Institute of Texas and the Center of Intelligence and Crime Analysis. “Nate Jones came to me with the idea. The plug-in seemed like a great opportunity to learn, so I thought I should take on the challenge,” said Dotson. “It also was a chance to solve a problem, which is always worth doing.” Commonly referred to as the “Photoshop for graph data,” Gephi allows users to feed in large amounts of data and then interact with it through visualizations, manipulating structures, shapes and colors to reveal hidden patterns. However, the software lacks centralization metrics, which are some of the most crucial measures in social network analysis for examining dark networks. ...

 Sam Houston State University is offering a new Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences (BAAS) in Criminal Justice program designed for those seeking a practical, affordable and accessible pathway to earning a bachelor’s degree. The program is offered fully online and uses a competency-based education (CBE) model with frequent start dates throughout the year, allowing students to progress by demonstrating what they know through real-world assignments and applied learning experiences. Students may also apply prior college coursework, professional training, certifications, military experience and other workforce learning toward their degree, helping reduce the time required to complete their bachelor’s degree. “This program was built with the field, for the field,” said Danielle Boisvert, senior associate dean of the SHSU College of Criminal Justice (SHSU-COCJ). “It creates a flexible, affordable pathway for students to advance their education while balancing work, family and other res...

SHSU College of Criminal Justice (SHSU COCJ) alumna Laura Greenwood (’15) has two words of advice for current college students. “Don’t stop!” Greenwood began her college career with SHSU COCJ in 1976. She experienced a freshman year that few, if any, other SHSU COCJ students can claim. During that time, her father, a former district attorney in the Corpus Christi area, tried a case in the Hazel B. Kerper courtroom in the SHSU George J. Beto Criminal Justice Center. “He did a change of venue on one of his cases to Sam Houston State University,” Greenwood said. “All my friends were there. They grew up knowing my dad and they all went to the courtroom to watch him.” Laura later paused her undergraduate studies to embark on a career with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice working as a guard, a groundbreaking move at the time since women made up less than 10 percent of correctional officers in the United States.  She later moved to New Mexico where she worked as a dispatcher with ...

Christopher Cook Master of Science in Homeland Security Studies Spilimbergo, Italy This spring, Christopher Cook earned a Master of Science in Homeland Security Studies with a graduate certificate in critical infrastructure protection from Sam Houston State University. The graduate completed his degree entirely online in his home country of Italy and visited Huntsville, Texas, for the first time to walk the orange carpet at commencement. Drawn to SHSU for its reputation in criminal justice education and its renowned research institutes, like the Institute for Homeland Security , Cook was eager to earn his graduate degree at a university with direct connections to the field and values that align with his own. “SHSU offered one of the most comprehensive and applicable degree programs in the nation,” Cook said. “When I learned about the story of General Sam Houston, along with the university motto, ‘The measure of a Life is its Service,’ I found both to be not only inspirational but als...